Four weeks until she arrives. I’m looking forward to not waddling and to not sweating like a whore in church every time the thermometer creeps higher than 75 degrees. This is my view now… see there used to be feet somewhere, but not so much any more. Just boobs and belly.
In my quest to cram all kinds of stuff into these last four {and a half, but who is counting} weeks before baby girl’s arrival, I’ve been making appointments left and right. I am totally loyal to my people too… they’re just unfortunately all at different salons all over the city. If you’re local and want suggestions, shoot me an email. Back to the appointments.
One to my massage therapist for a long overdue pre-natal massage.
One to my hair girl for a cut and color. Incidentally, I’m taking suggestions for color, help a girl out. I’m thinking red and blonde highlights? I’m totally intrigued by ombre too, but if it’s done wrong it just looks like hell.
A pedicure appointment. Pink, of course!
I just had my brows waxed and I’ll have them done again just before. T is a waxing goddess, she is quite simply spectacular and I love her. We were discussing what happens if I go into labor early. I told her I’d be making a frantic phone call to the salon to see if she could fit me in and she assured me she would make it happen. She’s awesome like that.
Then she relayed a story about having a client who came in for a wax while having contractions and she was afraid the whole time her water was going to break. A wax. A Brazilian.
If anything is going to send you over the edge and into active labor, having every piece of hair ripped off your labia is going to do it.
T assured me that it’s not that bad and that I should think about it, which I did for about 3.4 seconds before cringing and deciding it is decidedly not for me. She said, oh your hair isn’t course so it wouldn’t even hurt. Dude. It’s one thing to get your legs waxed or your eyebrows, it’s another to get on all fours, stick your legs over your head, and have every crevice waxed. Never mind the fact that when you’re naked from the waist down and eight months pregnant things are not pretty. You obviously can’t be drunk for it and ibuprofen is out, so I’m sure is vicoden which is the only good alternative I can come up with for that kind of pain.
I can see her getting one strip off, me yelling “holyMotherofGodthatHurtlikeaBitch,” followed by me getting up and running from the table screaming. I am pretty sure I’d be that dramatic with searing pain to my genitals.
And then I would need to find a new eyebrow goddess and we can’t be having that.
A Brazilian? No thank you, I don’t speak Portuguese.
Spill it ladies. Who’s had one? Did you love it or hate it? Are you just as afraid of having one as I am?
I am having a get my shit together kind of week. I have three appointments, my father in law’s birthday, the car is going into the mechanic, a trip 45 mintues away to IKEA, World Market, and Homegoods for last minute room additions, Finn has two classes, and sometime this week we’d actually like to see the newest addition to our family. {I might add that they are leaving the hospital this morning and he still doesn’t have a name.}
The carpet for our bedroom comes tomorrow! TOMORROW!! People, we’ve been camping out in Finn’s room for two months while the construction and painting and baseboards were being stripped and new underlayment was being laid and on and on and on. Two months! TWO very pregnant hormone filled months. The upheaval has been that much harder to take.
It seems as if it is the never ending project and I’m a little excited to be *thisclose* to being done.
I will have a closet rather than a dining room filled with our clothes. I WILL BE ABLE TO USE MY DINING ROOM TABLE! Oh, how I have missed you sweet dining room table. I am going to buy two dozen roses for the very center of the table for the first dinner.
Don’t even get me started on the french doors that have not been opened yet this year.
We can’t actually move in to our room for 72 hours since new carpet isn’t the best for pregnant lungs, but Dave can finish up the closet install while we wait.
Where was I? Oh yes, getting my shit together… someone send help and a lot of it.
What is on your agenda for the week?
Friday we decided to take Finn and Myles to the toy store get the new Cars 2 guys. It was so much fun watching them choose which characters they deemed worthy of coming home with them… and of course, they ended up with the exact same. Then we spent some time at my Meme’s house with John & Amanda while the boys played with their new loot. Amanda and I sat our overly pregnant asses on the couch and commiserated about being ready for these babies to arrive any time. That night, I slept a grand total of three and one half hours. A special shout out to the Enchiladas Veracruz for keeping me wide awake and in searing heartburn until 3:30 in the morning.
Saturday morning I got up and mowed the lawn. You would think that after the last time I would have learned my lesson that mowing the lawn isn’t the easiest thing when you’re eight months pregnant, but I haven’t. It has to look totally absurd. The way I look at it, it counts as exercise. Dave even did the edging, I think it was mostly so the neighbors won’t think he’s a tool for having his very pregnant wife out mowing, but I’ll take it. Then I made asked Dave to remove all of the furniture from the front porch and drag it out to the driveway to scrub it all down with my helper. I’m pretty sure too the neighbors thought we were the Clampetts. I would have carried it myself, but I likely would have herniated something since I can’t even see my feet right now.
Next up, we power washed the porch and scrubbed every surface. By we I mean, I power washed our outdoor rug and Dave did the rest of it while I took a three hour nap. My house might still be a disaster until the carpet arrives Wednesday for our bedroom, but we’re now porch party ready. That my friends is of utmost importance for summer. Finn has spent every waking minute out there since, usually conning Dexter or Monty out there with him and littering it with his toys.
We also managed to pack in a baby shower, more yard work, touch up painting in our room, a trip to Costco, some book reading, lots of laundry {including everything for baby girl’s first couple months} and dinner at my mom’s. Our weekend was overflowing.
We ended the crazy weekend with a phone call that Amanda’s water broke {lucky girl} and their baby boy is on his way. A couple hours pass and BAM he’s here! Yay for new cousins and the good news is that she made it to the hospital in time to get an epidural! I’m wondering if they are going to choose his name or if we’re going to be back to popular vote like Myles & Colin. I’ll keep you posted.
How was your weekend? Anything exciting to share?
So tomorrow is the Rapture. Also known as Judgment Day. The End of the World is coming, but not for five more months… October 21. Tomorrow everyone’s fates will be decided, some will go to Heaven, the rest will live with what they claim are going to be pretty shitty conditions here on Earth until October.
So there is that on the agenda for tomorrow along with maybe some gardening while we wait. Oh, and some more work on our bedroom because Rapture or not, the carpet for our bedroom is arriving {FINALLY} on Wednesday and I’ll be damned {no pun intended} if we don’t finish this room.
It would really suck if Finn and Dave get chosen, but I get left behind because I say things like fuck on the internet for the whole world to read.
What are your plans?
Hello, my name is Michelle and I am a compulsive list maker. That’s right. I make lists.
Grocery lists, packing lists, blog lists, cleaning lists, “to do” lists, baby lists, house lists… the lists, they are endless. I cross the done things out with a single line through it, preferably with a black Sharpie. The lure of the cross out is so tempting that I’ll write a cleaning list that includes Living Room: vacuum, dust, windex… just so I can cross them all off individually. I’ve got it bad. BAD, I say!
It drives Dave absolutely nuts. He is decidedly not of the list making type.
The things that don’t get done get moved to a new list. You can see why finding 5 lists with a dozen crossed out things and repeats of those that never get done might drive Dave to drink just a little?
Which are you, list maker or not?
There are reasons Dave married me. Mostly because I am totally awesome.
It has kind of been one of those weeks at our house. You know the ones.
We managed to somehow get a laundry cap stuck in the floor drain and it was um impeding the flow of water from the washer into the drain. By impeding I mean shooting water all over the basement floor while Dave looked on totally flabbergasted. No, I have no idea how it happened, but in this house I am not surprised.
He stuck his hand in there and had zero luck pulling the cap out. He stuck the snake in there to see how far in the blockage was… at that point he wasn’t sure if it was a detergent lid or a tennis ball that Monty enjoys watching bounce down the stairs. He was pretty sure that he would have to rip out the gorgeous pipe work that he did several months ago and start over OR call in Roto Rooter to retrieve the offending object.
“D, what about sticking the shop vac in there and seeing if it sucks it out?” Downstairs he and his little assistant went.
*Insert shop vac noises coming from the basement and little footsteps on the stairs.*
“Mommy, Daddy said you are a genius.”
And ok ok, it came through a four year old intermediary, but I think the sentiment is just as sweet. Maybe he’ll keep me around?
Finn is lounging on the couch in only his Hulk undies talking to himself about Scooby Doo and Spiderman being best friends. Occasionally, he busts out with a “Scooby Dooby Doooo” and the lyrics to the Spiderman song along with various and sundry other Spidey sound effects.
He’s supposed to be cleaning up his toy stash.
If I was rotten, I’d be taping this to use as blackmail when he is fifteen and brings a girl home for the first time. Instead, I am pretending to work on the computer and secretly listening to every word. His imagination makes me feel all gooey and proud to be his Mama.
He’s becoming more and more of a boy each day. Only this afternoon, we were doing yard work and he {shirtless and wearing jeans no less} was helping his Daddy move a few bricks into a pile. I suddenly realized that he’s no longer just “helping” his Daddy, but really helping.
When did this happen?
He used to be so little.
We had a crazy weekend. And by crazy I mean mostly I was mostly crazy and Dave was along for the ride. I’ve been having contractions, I’m assuming Braxton Hicks because they’re irregular, worse in the afternoon & evening and it’s way too early for little Miss to be making her appearance. {Yep, I’m upping my water and talking to my OB at today’s appointment just to be on the safe side.} It has however kicked off a bit of the crazy in me.
Friday my mom was off work so we went out to a great breakfast. Then to Target where I proceeded to buy everything I needed for the hospital and some little things for baby girl. Then it was off to Costco to stock up on other random things that we probably don’t need that my pregnancy brain has insisted that we have just in case. Everyone needs enough detergent for half a year of laundry, right? Right?
Dave came home and I insisted on mowing the lawn, never mind the smirk he gave me that said, “you are getting to the lunatic stage of pregnancy Michelle.” It was a really good idea until suddenly it wasn’t and I realized that maybe the last twenty or so feet still needed to be mowed and I was clearly in need of sitting on my ass with a LARGE glass of water. Maybe mowing the lawn in 87 degree weather while seven and a half months pregnant isn’t the most intelligent decision I could have made. So Dave laughed at me and gladly took over.
Saturday we did a whole lot of shopping and planting and more yard work in between bouts of thunderstorms. And there were lots and lots of those. I baked, I made pizza with our newly potted basil. I separated baby clothes into sizes. HOW does she have a better wardrobe in utero than I do after 35 years? I also made a list for the hospital and realized I haven’t even thought of a baby book for her.
Sunday we had an amazing brunch for my dad’s birthday. He insisted that it wasn’t for his birthday, that we were just having brunch for the sake of brunch. Wait, I need to tell you that I am always the freaking planner in our family, I know this surprises you. My sister Lyndsey decided to take over the planning and it was awesome. She kicks all kinds of brunch planning ass and we have officially voted her the Christmas brunch planner. I may never plan another thing ever, she did that great a job.
I made a blueberry lemon version of this breakfast cheesecake and it was delicious. We also woke up reeeeeallly late {we all slept until 10:15, can you believe it?!?!} so the fact that my contribution to brunch was already done was the biggest bonus of the morning. All I had to do was show up.
Then the Davester went on a date with me {and the rest of my family and our favorite neighbors} to see Bridesmaids. Hilarious. Go see it. Pay theater prices and laugh your ass off. My sisters loved it, my brother loved it, my dad loved it, we all laughed non-stop for two hours.
So there you have it. Our weekend filled with what I am assuming is just the start of the crazy. Stick around, you never know what’s coming next.
Now it’s your turn, what did you do?
We’re cool.
Thursday the 12th on the other hand… not so much.
I’ll spare you the details of our insurance debacle that almost resulted in me losing it AND having to switch doctors even though, you know my c-section is already scheduled for a couple weeks from now and all. On top of that an insurance customer service rep that should be absolutely ashamed of his not so veiled threats and piss poor attitude. Oh yeah. Thankfully there are small miracles and lovely insurance liaisons to fix things and not have the pregnant woman go into labor early due to stress. Seriously, this woman is getting flowers once it’s all officially fixed because she is absolutely lovely.
I do have to find a new OB/Gyn after baby girl arrives which I am less than thrilled about. If you’re local and love yours {really we’re done having babies so it would just be for annual visits} please shoot me an email with your recommendation.
Did I also mention that Blogger has been down for two days and has managed to somehow eat my post about pregnant bellies? It is reposted, but if you commented on the original {and there were some CRAZY belly touching stories} your comment has been eaten by a cyber monster that lives under the bed. It may also be a conspiracy by the belly touchers to keep me silenced!
So there you have it. I hope you have an amazing weekend peeps. Any big plans?
By nature, I’m a touchy person. My family, we are affectionate. It’s still a running joke in our family that my mom likes to torture Dave with mother in law hugs every chance she gets. I hug my friends. I shake hands. Touchy.
What you won’t see me doing ever is uninvitingly touching a pregnant woman’s belly whether she’s a friend or a stranger. Hey, don’t worry, you won’t ever see me touching a non-pregnant woman’s belly. And dudes, rest easy, I won’t be reaching for yours either.
In turn, don’t expect to touch mine. That’s right. If you don’t fall into one of these categories, keep your hands off… you are my husband, your name is Finnegan and I gave birth to you, you are my very close family member, or my very close friend. Allow me to clarify, if you aren’t sure about your category or you found out on Facebook that we were having this baby, you can bet your ass you’re not in the aforementioned, don’t take it personally, just keep your hands off.
It’s a phenomenon that I wasn’t even aware of until I had Finn four years ago.
An old lady accosted me in the store with hands on the belly and questions of the gender. I was so shocked that I was rendered speechless. Co-workers that I wasn’t even social with outside of work would come up and pat my stomach. Friends thought they had free reign to belly touch away until I as politely as I could told them how uncomfortable it made me. I even had my mom and sisters telling family friends that it freaked me out so my baby shower wasn’t one big belly touching fest, though there at least it was a little more natural that someone would reach out and touch. The grocery store or a restaurant or the post office waiting in line by a stranger though? It was enough to send me over the edge.
I’m not quite sure when it became ok for acquaintances, friends of friends, or complete strangers to lay their hands on a pregnant woman’s belly but really, I’d like it to stop. My stomach is not public domain. I am not Buddha, you don’t rub me for luck.
Now that I know, this time I’m much more aware of tactics to keep your hands off my belly. I’ll turn away or take a step back if I see you wiggling your fingers like you want to touch. Little old ladies be damned, if you don’t know me and go in for the pat, I’ll just start screaming “STRANGER DANGER!” until you back off the belly. There are still occasional sneak attacks, but I’ll remove your hand and tell you not to touch me if it happens. If you’re super annoying I may even just grab your belly too, but I’d rather we just all keep our hands to ourselves.
Spill it, what are your best belly protecting secrets? Are you a belly toucher? Did you like having your pregnant belly touched or did it creep you out?
Today my dad is old. Well, he’s old every day, but today he’s even older. Is it possible to be older than dinosaurs?
{This is my favorite picture of the two of us, taken last year at Finn’s birthday.}
We’re celebrating with brunch on Sunday, don’t worry dad… the only job Elise will get is toast duty.
Love you & HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
It’s spring {ok, ok LATE spring} and that means the dreaded cleaning must begin. It doesn’t help that for the last few months, we’ve been bunking with Finn while our bedroom is overhauled AND my nesting is kicking into high gear. The combination is a recipe for scrubbing down every surface in sight and just in time too because this house is a DISASTER area right now.
I must confess, I have tried an impressive amount of cleaning products. Much to my mom’s dismay, I am not a neat freak or a cleaning maniac by nature, but somehow the lure of a new product kicks me into cleaning gear. I am a marketers dream. Something new? Ooooooh shiny. Even better if it makes my cleaning routine faster.
Ha! You see there? I don’t even have a cleaning routine! But, if a product is so good that it gets me out to lunch with my friends faster or an extra half an hour of nap time, I’m all about it. Even better if it smells luscious and makes Dave think that he married someone that sort of knows what they are doing. You know… a miracle product.
Ok, so there are no miracle products or we would all be using them. There are, however a few products I absolutely love and to which I am extremely loyal.
Microfiber Cleaning Cloths. Oh my love for these, is undeniable they are so useful for cleaning everything and they are re-usable. I use them for dusting, for cleaning glass, for cleaning stainless steel, for wiping down counters, and for scrubbing floors. We bought ours at Costco, a giant pack of them for super cheap. {I think they were in the auto section actually.} Just pitch them into the washer and voila, good as new. You’re not supposed to put them in the dryer with fabric softener, but I always do and they’ve still lasted 3 years and are going strong.
Arm & Hammer Oxy Laundry Detergent in Fresh Scent. This laundry detergent is my absolute favorite for a few reasons. Dave is allergic to some other brands, I absolutely love the scent, and unlike some other detergents, I feel like this rinses very clean and never leaves a residue on our clothes. I also love that they frequently have coupons and their regular prices aren’t outrageous to begin with.
Method Stainless Steel Cleaner. I’ve tried a few things over the years for our {perpetually fingerprinted} fridge and our stainless worktable that we use as an extension of our counter. We’ve used wipes and three or four other brands of cleaner, but Method smells really, really good and in combination with the microfiber cloths, takes just a minute to spray on and wipe away all those prints. Method products can be a little pricey, but one bottle of this stuff lasts forever.
Mr Clean Magic Eraser. This is just an occasional use item in our house, but one that I always have on hand. I don’t even need to know what makes this ‘magic’ I just want to enjoy the awesomeness. Crayon, scuffs, all kinds of random weird marks… they DISAPPEAR people, with just a swipe or two of the eraser. Truly magic.
Honorable Mentions: Mrs Meyers Clean Day Lemon Verbena countertop spray smells SO good it feels like a room freshener rather than a cleaner. Plain old Clorox Bleach mixed with water for disinfecting the entire bathroom & kitchen sink. Windex for my mirrors & windows. Our Dyson also gets a mention, it’s so fun to see all the junk you’re vacuuming up {and makes you feel like you should be doing it more often} plus, I love all the tools it comes with, great for cobwebs and pet hair!
Your turn, tell me your faves! Have you done any spring cleaning?
Disclosure: Just so we’re clear, the opinions stated are my own, I have not been compensated in any way by any of these companies.
We’re really trying to be proactive. I swear we are, but it’s just not coming to us. Her name, that is. The name I love is still in the running, but I’m not as stuck on that being THE one as I was early on.
Mariah just named her babies after the décor in their apartment, Moroccan… and Monroe because apparently she has a bit of a thing for the former actress. You notice, she sure wasn’t going to name her Norma Jean.
We’re waiting, scouring name sites and trying not to take clues from celebrities. We would end up with an Eclectic for our house décor or maybe Orange, to go with Gweneth’s daughter Apple? I did eat a massive amount of oranges during my first trimester. What do you think?
We like different, {but not celebrity fake made up name different} so pretty much anything in the SSA Top names is out. Call us traumatized, but as a Michelle and a Dave, we’re pretty sure that NOT being one of 5 others in your class with the same name would be great. I am still shaking my fist at the makers of Glee for effing up Finn staying under the radar.
So, I’m just putting it out there, name this baby, will ya? I’m asking, begging really, throw a girl name {or twelve} our way. Give us your suggestions, I’d love to hear them.
Anyone that knows her, acknowledges that she is a force to be reckoned with.
Mom, I love you for all of the 239,397 things that make you so very uniquely YOU.
Happy {early} Mother’s Day!
Happy Cinco de Mayo!
This is such an easy lunch and a great project for little hands.
Finnegan and Myles loved making their own nacho lunch. We provided them with black beans, refried beans, seasoned ground beef, and two kinds of cheese and let them fill their nachos. You can use whatever kind of tortilla chips that you like, here we used Scoops so they could fill them easily. They took their nacho making duties very seriously, filling each to the very top with fillings.
Then we popped them into the oven at 400 degrees for about 10 minutes. We topped with sour cream and served them alongside fresh avocado chunks and fruit.
Are you looking for something to do with kids in the Toledo, Ohio area? I was shocked to find that there wasn’t a comprehensive list anywhere to be had of all the fun things to do with kiddos in our hometown.
In an effort to beat the “there is NOTHING to do!” syndrome, take a look at all the fun places there are to explore, enough for an entire stay-cation and more. You will find activities for all seasons, some inside and some outdoors, and for kids of all ages. Everything on the list is within an hour’s drive of the city. If you’re a native Toledoan or just passing through for a day, I hope you can find something fun and interesting to do. Some of these items are even FREE.
I have also included a {More} link at the end of the suggestions that I have featured before at So Wonderful, So Marvelous. {It also made me realize how much I don’t write about, we’ve been to some of these places dozens of times!} You can click the link to see photos and a personal account of some of our favorites.
I hope you enjoyed this list and have found one or two activities to share with your kids. Feel free to share with your friends, just click on the little share icons below to easily post on Facebook, Twitter, or to e-mail. If there is anything that you love to do in Toledo that I may have missed, please add new ideas to the comments, I’d love to hear from you!
Dear Michelle,
Thanks for your e-mail about HUGGIES® Bath and Body products.
Due to a marked decline in consumer preference, we are no longer manufacturing HUGGIES® Bath & Body products. These products were discontinued in 2009. We regret that some of our loyal customers will be disappointed and apologize for any inconvenience.
With the hope that you will continue to use Kimberly-Clark products, we are sending you some cost-saving coupons through the mail. Thanks again for contacting us and for giving us an opportunity to respond. We value you as our customer.
JeanConsumer Services, Kimberly-Clark Corp.Lead the world in essentials for a better life.
016093209A
I know this is all anyone will be talking about for the next few days, bear with me for just a moment. Osama Bin Laden has been killed. This man has been responsible for thousands upon thousands of deaths, not only on 9/11, but in attacks around the world. It’s shocking, it’s certainly not anything I thought I would be writing about much too late on a Sunday evening.
The moment it was released by the media, I started to think back to that day ten years ago. It’s amazing what your mind will do. I was sitting at work when my boss came into my office. We were initially in shock about the plane hitting the tower, it had to be an accident, right? There was speculation about what kind of idiot wouldn’t be able to miss a building. When the second plane hit we saw it live, people started to panic, started to realize, and by the time the Pentagon was hit they were evacuating our building and sending everyone home. Airplanes were grounded at whatever airports were closest. People were glued to their TVs, they were crying, they were in shock.
It was absolutely surreal that day and the days to follow, the first time in my lifetime, that war was brought to our shores. It was terrifying, it was simply unfathomable the magnitude of death and destruction.
Every single person who remembers that day was affected, each one a victim on so many levels. Reality changed.
In the ten years since the attacks, people have softened in remembering, time passes and you start to forget. But not for those families of those who were killed. Every single day their loved one is gone.
Bin Laden’s death isn’t going to bring those people back to their families.
Those Navy Seals, President Obama, all of the people responsible for the accurate intelligence, they were just doing their jobs. A job ten years in the making.
I don’t know that there needs to be jubilee or celebration, but I hope it brings some closure. Some peace.
So Wonderful, So Marvelous by
Michelle Albright-Peters is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.
Based on a work at www.sowonderfulsomarvelous.com.
